Offbeat

in this case i think that tiktok and peanut's rising popular was the culprit

… yeah, that’s how wildlife officials became aware of the situation. They aren’t remotely monitoring every squirrel.

And don’t feel too bad for him, he isn’t putting the squirrel’s welfare first at all:

Longo brought Peanut home and cared for him for eight months before trying to release the squirrel into the great outdoors. “A day and a half later I found him sitting on my porch missing half of his tail with his bone sticking out,” Longo said.

A fucking bone sticking out and he didn’t even try to get the squirrel veterinary care, because it would have meant the squirrel was taken away. No vet is going to let someone without a rehabilitation license walk out with a wild animal they’re not competent to care for. And having a Really Cool Pet was just more important than, again, a BONE being exposed to the air.